Lysette Anthony joins Hollyoaks

Once hailed as 'the face of the 80s', Anthony - best known to TV viewers from sitcom Three Up, Two Down - will debut this Friday as Marnie, the mother of James, Nathan and Ellie.

Marnie and her scheming son James plan to use Cindy to take down Mac. But little does she know that Cindy is Alfie Nightingale’s biological mother and therefore the reason for her and Mac’s divorce. How long will it be before buried secrets bubble to the surface?

Talking about her new role, Anthony said: "Quite simply, I am utterly 'made up' joining Hollyoaks. It's a fabulous show, great cast and brilliant crews - a lovely place to work.

"Marnie is, in brief, trouble. She loved and lost dramatically. She'll never forgive Mac. 'Til death us do part' is tattooed into her very psyche. Meanwhile, she's back - determined to humiliate and destroy him. And that's on a good day…"

Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood added: “We are incredibly lucky to have signed the talent and glamour of the wonderful Lysette Anthony. I've always been a huge fan, and a few years after her previous Hollyoaks cameo as Louise Summers's mum Yvonne, Lysette is now starring as brand new character Marnie Nightingale.

"Marnie is a complex, intriguing and hilarious matriarch with a big broken heart. She could start a fight in an empty room and I can't wait to see the havoc and mischief she's going to wreak on Cindy and the rest of the Nightingales."